The Spirits Emergence
by OneofthefewKA
Summary: The Gaang manages to earn a few weeks to search for Zuko's mother, but they soon find out what really happens when the sun goes down.
1. Chapter 1

Ok guys, might as well lay out some stuff. My " His Waterbender, Her Airbender" story is gonna take a serious hit, enough said. I don't know if it will continue much more than what is on my computer unedited, I'll try with enough reviews but my main focus will be on this story. As always, I am eager to read your comments be they simple "Good jobs" or "You're rushing" I really want to hear what you think.

**Disclaimer: The Author does not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of it's assets. Infact, if Mike and Brian read this, I seriously wouldn't care if they used the plot in a series or something.**

_The Ages spin around and around. The Ages come as the Ages will, and by the time an Age reappears, it has already been forgotten. The Age of darkness has not been seen by the world for a very long time, but it approaches. The oceans will chop and the earth will shudder, the air will fall silent and fire will grow cold. Nothing will stand against the entity of pure anger. Nothing will stand against the entity of fear, an entity that has lived longer than all but two others..._

Aang looked into her eyes, or more specifically, Katara's eyes. They looked different than normal. They were calm and content, no longer had the worry and fear of capture. Instead, they were pools of welcoming blue water.

As if they had coordinated it, the two hugged, followed by a kiss. Katara's soft lips against his own seemed perfect, as if his entire life had led up to this moment.

The kiss continued, not into a passionate one, but a loving one, one that communicated all the bottled up emotions that they had had since the beginning.

It seemed just like yesterday that Aang had awakened from the iceberg in Katara's arms. Looking back at their travels, Aang remembered their first kiss, at the Cave of Two Lovers, which was more of a hasty one to escape.

The second time, at the Invasion, was just as hasty, and almost said goodbye. Both of those were nothing compared to the one they shared now. This one was the purest form of love.

The two broke apart, not wanting it to end but preferring that Sokka didn't find out in such a way.

"I guess we should go back inside," said Aang, reaching out and putting his hand around Katara's. She blushed, but did not move to break his simple gesture.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to make Sokka suspicious," said Katara, and they both laughed weakly heading back.

"And I don't have three feet!" Zuko said angrily, pointing at another of Sokka's mistakes.

Obviously, Toph's previous joke didn't last long and they were back at critiquing Sokka's masterpiece.

"Look at Momo," Uncle Iroh pointed at the small lemur, who had taken Sokka's paintbrush and began to paint a picture of what really happened.

Sadly, Momo's hands weren't quite big enough to hold the paint brush properly and the painting ended up looking like a sort of black smudge, only bigger. Everyone laughed again, and Sokka was saved for a few moments longer.

"Hey, look who's back," Iroh said as he eyed Aang and Katara's hands, winking at the blushing Avatar.

Aang quickly let his hand drop down to his side, where it was grabbed again by Katara, who gave a reassuring smile.

Sokka eyed their hands suspiciously, but thankfully said nothing. No doubt he was waiting till the happy moment was over, which was very un-Sokka like.

The rest of the day continued this way. Many more subjects were found to laugh about, from Zuko in the beginning of the war to the play at Ember Island, which had gotten much funnier in reflection. Suki laughed in remembrance and told everyone how Sokka thought the end was from the future and everyone laughed again at the expense of the water tribe warrior.

Even when it came to the awkward moment when the two actors for Katara and Zuko were in the cave, Aang and Katara could only laugh knowing that the play writers were horribly mistaken.

At the end of the day, the gaang, with new additions, went off to sleep in Iroh's Shop. He had cleared one of the rooms and they all slept on the floor.

The night air was extremely refreshing, so the windows were opened up to let in the meager moon light and perfect air. Aang couldn't resist bending it for a while before sleeping, blowing around dust and such in a little spectacle until someone got sand in their eyes, probably Sokka, and Aang was forced to stop.

The sun shone in through the opened windows the next morning, waking a refreshed waterbender. Katara sat up, looking around at the sleeping bags everywhere around her. She looked at Sokka. Check, she thought. Next her head went to Toph. Check, again. Lastly her head went to Aang, who was doing a similar check off. They both caught each others eyes and blushed.

"Good morning," Katara said softly, smiling at the still blushing Avatar. He smiled that goofy smile of his and Katara stifled a laugh.

She quietly then made her way to the kitchen, routinely preparing everything she would need to make breakfast.

"Katara, don't you think Iroh or someone will make breakfast?" Aang asked from the doorway, eying the pots and pans knowingly.

"He probably would, but he deserves a break. Besides, I don't mind, I like cooking," Katara shrugged, continuing to prepare various cooking instruments, "Would you mind getting someone and going to the market to get some more food? Iroh certainly didn't stock up for so many people."

"Sure," Aang said brightly. "Hmm, I think I'll take… you." He grinned and grabbed Katara's hand, leading her out the door.

"You know, I meant someone other than me, Aang," Katara sighed, only slightly annoyed at his choice in company.

"I know, but who would I wake up?" Aang asked slyly, "Sokka would kill me, Toph would kill me, Zuko would kill me, I think almost everyone would kill me if I tried to wake them up." He counted off everyone with his fingers on his free hand. Katara shrugged.

Once they made their way back to the shop, Katara began cooking. By this time however, Aang and Katara weren't the only ones up.

"Aang, I need your help," came the voice of Zuko, who was standing at the doorway Aang had been standing in a little while ago.

Aang looked up to Zuko, signaling that he had his full attention.

"I need you to help me find my mother."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The author does not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

Han Feng was the new leader of the Dai Lee. He had successfully convinced the new Earth King, King Bumi, that he had nothing to do with the rebellion.

Looking down at his polished oak desk, Han Feng was only vaguely aware of the sunlight from the windows along one of the walls to his office dimming, and then vanishing.

"Hello," came a rasping, deadly sounding voice.

Han Feng jumped in fright, looking around. Relief flooded him however when he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He moved to open the windows but to his astonishment, the windows were already open. However, nothing got through. No light, no heat, nothing.

Now scared, Han Feng made for the door when a massive centipede dropped down. He tripped backwards, accidentally flinging an ink jar at the beast.

The ink went right through it.

"That is no way to treat a guest," it ground out, the experiences and pain of more than a thousand years evident.

"Wh-Who are you? What are you?" Han Feng asked, his hands shaking in fear.

"I have many names. Some call me the face stealer, but you… you can call me Koh," said the insect, an evil grin growing on his grotesque face.

* * *

"Aang, I need your help," Came the voice of Zuko, who was standing at the doorway Aang had been standing in a little while ago.

Aang looked up to Zuko, signaling that he had his full attention.

"I need you to help me find my mother."

Katara looked up from her cooking at the mention of someone's mother. Aang just shrugged when she sent him a questioning glance.

Zuko looked at the two in defeat and went over what had happened between him and his father in the prison so long ago.

"Wait, so he said that your mother was in the Earth Kingdom? No city name, no coordinates?" asked Katara. Zuko shook his head.

"I guess we'd better start looking," Aang decided, his eyes distant in thought.

"We should wait till the others wake up before we tell them what we plan to do," Katara proposed, continuing her cooking.

Zuko looked up suddenly from the overly interesting floor, and in the doorway stood a sleepy Iroh. Today he was wearing a green suit gown thing that he preferred to serve tea with.

Katara noticed Zuko's action and looked up herself.

"Good morning General Iroh," Katara greeted politely, looking back at her cooking.

Iroh mumbled something inaudible and sat in one of the chairs that were skillfully positioned for easy access.

The kitchen was connected directly to the room everyone was sleeping in with a thin wall to stop the noise from getting through.

Soon enough, the rest of the gaang was awake. Aang and Katara served the breakfast, which included a variety of Earth Kingdom meats and a fruit salad for Aang, who thanked Katara for her thoughtfulness.

Zuko looked over at Aang, sending him a questioning look. Aang nodded and Zuko stood up.

"Uh, hey everyone," Zuko waved awkwardly. The noise level in the room dropped immediately. "I went to meet my father in prison, and I got him to tell me where my mother is. She's somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. I need your help finding her."

A few startled faces greeted his seemingly out of nowhere comment.

"Count me in," came the somewhat enthusiastic voice of Sokka followed by more of the same from everyone else.

"Thanks guys. I got the Fire Nation to give me a month to search for her and the political mess isn't so bad that the Avatar has to get involved," Zuko explained. Aang's relief was evident on his face.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Suki, her hand on Sokka's arm.

"We're not going to split up," Aang said firmly. "We just fought and won a hundred year was so we would never be split up again."

There were many acknowledgments from the rest of the gaang.

"Well, Appa can't carry all of us," said Sokka, thinking out loud.

"But you forget Sokka, I'm the fire lord. I can get us a ride," Zukos smirked, gesturing to one of the airships floating over Ba Sing Se to keep peace.

"Then it's settled. We go from top to bottom looking for your mother," Sokka decided, crossing his arms which signified that he would not change his mind.

"Wouldn't she be in Ba Sing Se though? I think we should check the city before we go out and check the hundreds of Earth Kingdom villages," Katara suggested.

"I have guards looking for her. They know what she looked like and will tell me if they find her," answered Zuko.

Katara looked over at Aang, who was wearing his monk's robes. She liked the way they looked on him; they made him look older. The effect was only ruined when he smiled, betraying his age, and making Katara smile back.

It was only a matter of minutes until the entire Gaang was packed and ready. They thanked Iroh for his hospitality and flew away, leaving him waving at their ever shrinking forms.

Katara waved back at the old general until he was a smallamongs. She slid down to the head of the bison, who was tiring quickly with the extra weight of his passengers, and landed next to Aang and Zuko, who were talking, with Zuko occasionally pointing somewhere and Aang adjusting Appa's course accordingly.

After a little while, Aang landed Appa on one of the airships, which had been modified to accommodate the flying bison in record times for the factories back at the Fire Nation.

"So, where to first?" asked Suki.

"We'll start at the north and work our way down," Zuko answered her while he walked along the ventral shaft of the airship to the captains cabin. He then told the captain to take them to the northern tip of the Earth Kingdom.

It was dusk when they landed at one of the few airship refueling places for more coal. The navigational officer had assured the gaang that the first Earth Kingdom village was only a few miles south of their current location, but walking along the never changing forest to both sides of her, Katara wasn't so sure about his original estimate. If only Aang hadn't insisted Appa got a rest for all the hard work he'd done.

"Hey Zuko, why don't your ships have decent navigational officers?" Katara asked sarcastically.

"I think it has something to do with a certain water tribe warrior who took down half the fleet," Zuko replied, giving a pointed glare to Sokka, who was too busy staring into the air in front of him to notice.

"Hey guys, I think we should take a break," said Aang suddenly, finding a comfortable spot on the ground and flopoping down.

"No way, it can't be too far," Sokka shook his head, breaking from his trance. He was dedicated to getting to the Earth Kingdom Village for reasons unknown to the others, probably unknown to himself as well.

"I agree with Aang. Besides, the village won't just disappear if we take a break," Katara said, moving to Aang's side.

"You're just saying that because Aang's your boyfriend," Sokka teased.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Katara asked dangerously.

Sokka raised his hands in a 'calm down' gesture.

"I'm just saying, you don't really need to rest, you're just siding with Aang 'cause he's your boyfriend," Sokka repeated.

Katara rolled her eyes but flopped down on the ground next to Aang nonetheless. Sokka grunted, falling to the ground, closely followed by Suki.

"Cut it out Sokka, you knew they'd end up together in the end," said Toph, who had remained oddly silent for the past few days.

"Fine, we'll wait for a few minutes," Sokka said grumpily, still not very happy about it.

Aang, put his arm around Katara's shoulder, ignoring the look Sokka was giving him and pulling Katara closer to him. They stayed that way for 'a few minutes' before Sokka's voice broke the silence.

"Alright, that's long enough, let's go," Sokka said, standing up from the ground and brushing off his cloths.

The others got up with varying levels of annoyance.

It wasn't long after that that the gaang had made their way into the village, splitting up to search the small town. The sun set yet Aang and Katara still hadn't found the long lost mother. They decided to head back to their meeting place before it got too dark.

The gaang converged on the meeting place, all with downcast faces. Zuko and Mai came in last. Noticing how glum they looked, Zuko assumed that no one had found his mother and he too, became dreary, almost as dreary as Mai.

All of a sudden, Sokka looked up with a smile on his face.

"I know how to make you feel better Zuko! There's a party tonight in this village in celebration of the ending of the war! I think we should go," he exclaimed, evidently pleased with his thoughtfulness.

Zuko shrugged, which Sokka took as a 'sure' but otherwise showed no other sign that he really heard what Sokka had said.

"I guess we're going to the dance then," Aang said, not very sure about it.

"Aw, come on Aang, It'll be fun," Katara said, trying to reassure Aang. He smiled weakly at her before the gaang started their trek back to the airship.

On the way back, Katara continued to ask Aang why he wasn't thrilled like he ought to be.

"A party is something you'd like, besides, _you_ organized a dance in the Fire Nation," Katara reinforced, smiling for good measure. Toph let out a laugh that despite Katara's questing glance, went unexplained.

"Katara, It's not the dance," Aang said uneasily, "I just think something bad is going to happen. Really, really, bad."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The author does not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

Han Feng looked out the single window not blocked by Koh's spirit magic. Over one thousand Dai Li were busy getting ready for a war they did not know about, more were preparing all over the kingdom.

"Is it finished?" The evil spirit asked, his snake face quickly changing into that of a monkeys.

"Almost my lord, only a few more preparations and the plan will be ready. You will have your kingdom," Han Feng replied, his voice quivering slightly.

"You seem… Distressed… What troubles you?" asked Koh, hardly paying attention to the nervous jitters the pathetic excuse for a human was having.

"M-My family... you said you wouldn't hurt them," he said, though there was a hint of question in his voice.

"And so it shall be. I don't see the problem. Are you telling me you don't wish to complete the task of the Dark One? Do you refuse to do his bidding? Even I don't dare cross him!" Koh boomed, his voice thundering through the decorated room before finally dissipating.

"N-No… My Lord," Han Feng said queasily, his voice barely heard above the chattering of his teeth.

* * *

King Bumi looked up at the massive double doors that had been newly built. Han Feng strode in, much more confident than he usually was.

Bumi was slightly perplexed by the odd change in the usually silent and slightly shy man.

"You Majesty, I came at your request," Han Feng said, giving a sweeping bow.

"Hmm, I don't recall asking for you," Bumi said, ignoring the formalities the other man was giving.

Suddenly, the palace shook as if struck. One of the Dai Li came rushing in.

"Sir, the palace is under attack. The entire city has been taken over by the Fire Nation," The Dai Li said, rushing back out.

"Your Magesty, if you would please. I must escort you out of the palace. The Dai Li can keep the path safe to your airship," Han Feng said.

Bumi just barely recalled the ordering of an airship from Fire Nation factories, in green. Nevertheless, he got out of his chair and walked along the hall, ignoring the shaking ground.

The two emerged from the palace, a circle of Dai Li surrounding them. Han Feng lifted his hand and the Dai Li turned, shackling the Earth King with reinforced metal braces that had been purified twice to increase the difficulty needed to metal bend them.

Bumi stomped the ground with his foot, sending half the agents into the air. Immediately, the earth beneath the king fell away and he was imprisoned in a wooden box, which was surrounded by more wood, which Bumi thought was probably surrounded by the purified metal.

"Everything went according to plan," Said Han Feng.

A group of Dai Li came out from a corner. They were the ones who 'attacked' the palace.

"Everything went according to plan," he repeated in a quieter voice, an immense feeling of pride filling him.

* * *

"So… Hey Suki, doyouwanttogotothedancewithme?" Sokka asked in a rush, his words barely coherent. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.

Katara looked over and laughed. Her brother could be so awkward when he didn't have to be. She just caught the obvious reply.

"Of course I would like to go to the dance with you," Suki said, laughing at Sokka's pleading face.

Katara wondered when Aang would ask her to the dance. Or maybe it was simply assumed? She was just about to ask when Aang turned his head towards her.

"Hey Katara, Do you wan-"

"Of course I would," Katara immediately answered, cutting him off.

He just smiled. Katara hadn't noticed how much Aang had grown since she found him in the ice berg. And not just physically, though, that too, but mentally as well. He wasn't that little carefree boy that was nervous to ask Katara just about anything. Then again, thinking back over the last few weeks, perhaps he was still a little carefree, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Looking ahead at the road that snaked every fifteen steps, Katara couldn't help but let out a slight grunt in frustration. Taking it the wrong way, Aang's eyes immediately turned guilty.

"I'm sorry Katara. I didn't kn-"

"It's not you Aang, I'm just a little tired of all this walking," Katara said, cutting Aang off for the second time that day.

"Oh," he replied, grinning that goofy grin of his that always made Katara smile back, which she did.

"Hey, can you two be quiet for a moment?" asked Sokka, who just finished kissing Suki's cheek.

Katara was about to reply but then Zuko let out a "Hey look, there it is!" which stalled the argument as well as letting a little hope trickle down to Katara's feet. She had definitely forgotten the stresses of walking on foot so long after the treatment they had been given at the tea shop and then again aboard the airship.

Just as Zuko had said, or more exclaimed, the small airship refueling station, with the addition of one airship, appeared around a bend in the road.

"Finally," mumbled Katara to herself.

It wasn't long until everyone was ready for the dance. Katara was still in her room making last minute preparations to her blue Kimono dress, her mothers necklace where it always was, sparkling with the light from the torches around her room. The annoyed voice of a water tribe warrior as well as those of other various members of the gaang were heard through the thick metal door. Katara sighed, but opened the door anyway.

"Finally," Sokka grumbled, looking none too pleased despite the beautiful woman standing next to him. Suki smiled apologetically on behalf of him.

"Wow Katara, you look beautiful" Aang said, a little aw in his voice.

Katara blushed, before taking his hand, which caused him to blush.

"Where's Toph?" Katara asked, a slight hint of concern tinting her voice, as it usually did when someone from the gaang wasn't within sight was being talked about.

"I'm right here Sugar Queen," came Toph's reply. She stepped out from one of the many corners around the small cabin that was their meeting place.

"Aren't you going with someone?" asked Sokka, who had been racking up the points for the 'I Don't Think Twice About What I Say Even If It Is At The Expense Of Someone Else' award..

"No, I'll probably just laugh at you fumbling around on the dance floor while Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen make out in some dark corner, not to mention the Fire Lord doing whatever it is that the Fire Lord does at parties," Toph said, stealing every single point Sokka had earned and then some.

Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Aang, and Katara all blushed varying hues of red. Sokka gave both Toph and Aang a glare, which was returned with a shrug and a questioning look espectively.

"So, are we going to actually go to this party, or sit here and watch Aang and Sokka have a messed up staring contest?" Toph asked rhetorically before walking out the door, topping further argumentation.

"Well she's certainly making up for her silence these past few days," Katara said.

The others nodded before following the blind earthbender out the door.

Aang agreed to bring Appa this time around instead of walking the agonizing distance to and from the party, especially after they would most undoubtedly tire themselves out from the party.

Appa landed outside the large Town Hall where the party was already in full swing. The group of six walked through the double doors.

Just as to be expected, the entire room, which was quite large by the way, quieted instantly. Everyone's heads turned in Aang's direction.

"Uh… Hi everyone," Aang said nervously, putting up a hand.

Applause roared through the main room as the group was absorbed into the party. Aang looked around, noticing that he couldn't see any of his friends through the thick crowd that had enveloped him.

"Are you really the Avatar?" "Long live the Avatar!" "Did you really kill the Fire Lord?"

There were so many questions, Aang tried to ignore them and began to worm his way through the crowd. A couple girls asked him to dance with them, to which he replied that he was already in love with someone else.

Finally, through the mass of people, Aang saw a blue dress and immediately headed in that direction. Aang broke through the bubble of people and grabbed onto Katara's arm, holding onto it like his life depended on it. Aang pulled Katara away from the slow moving crowd for a few seconds of peace.

"Whew, I never thought I'd escape from the" Just then, the crowd realized that the Avatar was missing and began to charge the helpless airbender.

Katara did the only thing she thought would stop them and kissed him soundly on the mouth, interrupting the Avatar, who didn't look disappointed at all. The crowd stopped in their tracks, some simply walking away, others grumbling angrily, but still others thinking it was just a show, who were quickly stopped when Aang began kissing Katara back.

A lone band began to play music, the entire party quieting enough to hear them and an unofficial dancing floor was made. The music changed to a slower, more somber tune and Aang looked at Katara questioningly. She nodded and he took her over to the dance floor. Aang put his arms around Katara's waist while hers found their way around his neck.

"This is so…"

"Perfect?" Katara finished for him.

"Yeah" He said in reply, but was silenced from further discussion by yet another kiss.

It seemed like minutes latter that Aang realized that a man was trying to get his attention.

"Avatar Aang, this is for you, it's urgent," The man said.

He looked like an Earth Kingdom soldier. Aang let go of Katara and took the letter, unrolling it before reading it.

_Dear Avatar Aang,_

_I regret to inform you that King Bumi, King of the Earth Kingdom, has died from disease. He had been telling many of his servants that should he die, we were to let you know. I now your loss is deep. I hope to see you at his funeral._

_Han Feng,_

_Leader of the Dai Li_

Aang's eyes filled with tears. Katara took the letter from him before reading it herself. She looked up at him, tears in her own eyes, before hugging him, easing them both of their pains. One, at the loss of the only other living connection to his past apart from Appa, and the other, the loss of a good friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**It seems I've forgotten my A/N! (Don't forget to RnR)  
**

**Miss Cow: I try to keep the characters IC. As for Gaang, it has Aang in it It seems right to spell it with two A's when Aang is in it.**

**Axel-of-the-Fantasy: I won't spoil the surprises now will I? Thanks for the compliment.**

**The Waterbending USApotterfan: Thanks! It is kind of contradictory to Miss Cow's criticism, so I'll keep them the way they are. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The author of this story does not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.**

Iroh looked down at his ceremonial katana, a gift, and a curse, from the white lotus. He then looked up at the massive gate in front of him. On the front of the gate were pictures of horrible things; monsters from the sea destroying whole towns, volcanic elementals spewing massive molten rocks at their enemies.

But not a single thing on the door was untrue. This door was the source, the drive, behind the White Lotus. Had the world been lucky enough not to need such a door, the White Lotus would never have been formed.

Iroh was loath to open the door, for he had been chosen to open it once before. The Spirit World lay behind the it, but not how it should. There was something even more powerful, locked behind this door. Something more powerful than the elementals, the sea monsters, the gargantuan beasts that slept within.

Knowing that he could no longer hold off, Iroh slid the katana into a fitting slot in the stories high door. Red energy flew off the slot, racing to other areas before spreading. Noises emerged from within and the door opened.

Iroh looked around for anything dangerous, for even the birds among the trees had quieted. The silence was deafening.

Iroh took a step inside and felt the dark powers inside tug at his gut, but somehow, they were different.

He continued walking down the massive tunnel, teeth marks in the stone, and claw marks on the ground. Any normal person would have left at this point, but Iroh continued on. He managed to ignore the smell of death that hung on the walls, and only the knowledge that those who caused that death were deep in sleep, harmless for the time being, let him continue forward.

Iroh emerged from the tunnel into a dead forest, the bark charred and black on the many trees, trees that hadn't had green leaves for thousands of years. Ahead of him was a clearing where the most dangerous thing, which had remained shackled with an unknown material, had been kept for so long.

He wasn't prepared for the sight that welcomed him next.

* * *

Appa soared through the sky towards the Fire Nation. The airship had been left behind with Zuko for speed, leaving only the gaang plus Suki sitting on the saddle to the air bison.

Katara looked over to Sokka, who was busy guiding Appa, then over to Toph, who had her arm hanging over the side of the saddle staring blindly out to the sky. Suki was in a similar position on the other side of the saddle, ablate, she wasn't quite as blind as the earthbender.

Aang was leaned up against Katara's shoulder in an attempt to get comfortable, which Katara imagined wasn't quite so difficult. She herself didn't mind the occasional movements the young Airbender would make, but enjoyed the quiet time they were sharing as she did any moment near Aang.

Storm clouds made themselves known with a low rumbling of thunder in the distance followed by rolling black clouds. Katara looked over to them, and then Sokka, who seemed not to notice the dangerous clouds.

"Hey Sokka, want to go faster?" Katara asked, a slight tinge of sarcasm on her voice.

"What? Why would I want to do th…" Sokka trailed off, staring at the quickly moving clouds.

"Sokka," Katara said insistently.

He quickly gave Katara one of those 'I know what I'm doing' looks that he gave her whenever he _didn't _know what he was doing.

"Yip yip," Sokka said, perhaps a little too loudly.

Aang woke from his half sleeping state and looked around, finally locating the source of the annoying sound that was Sokka's voice and then locating the slightly less annoying, but much more dangerous source of the low rumbling. In truth, Katara wondered how the airbender had managed to ignore it so long, especially seeing as it was partially made up from his element.

"Whoa, hey Sokka, look at those storm clouds," Aang said, pointing at them.

"Whoa, storm clouds, it's not like I didn't already see them or anything. Thanks," Sokka answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No problem," Aang said, ignorant to Sokka's sarcasm.

Katara stifled a laugh which made Aang look over at her with a questioning look and Sokka, with a slightly angry look.

"Hey Aang, you're not covering up your feelings for Bumi, are you?" Katara asked, her expression changing from one of humor to one of seriousness. Aang copied her mood with perhaps a little bit more severity.

"I've already felt what it feels like to bury the pain, I'm trying to simply accept it this time and let it run its course. I already feel much better," Aang replied.

Katara was surprised at Aang's wise decision.

Thanks to Sokka's expert guiding, Appa managed to get ahead of the storm and landed near the palace, where he invited himself into the massive entrance hall to the building, smartly avoiding the rain.

"Hey guys, you ever wonder about what _could _have happened?" Toph asked, completely out of the blue.

"Well uh," "Not really" "Wha?" Everyone replied with different answers, completely caught off guard by the odd question. Toph sighed.

"Everything could have been _so _much better. I mean, Katara and Aang could have never loved each other, relieving me of awkward moments, and certain other members of the gaang could have chosen differently as well," Toph said in jest.

Everyone had a dumbfounded look on their faces. Toph laughed uproariously.

"You should have seen your faces. Best. Moment. Ever." Toph cheered, still laughing.

"Wait, but you can't see our faces either," Katara replied curtly.

Toph frowned, which caused the other members of the gaang to start laughing. After a while, everyone had finished laughing, Sokka claiming that he missed moments when everyone was happy, which earned him strange looks from everyone, all remembering the single week ago when they were all happy.

"Not to spoil the moment, but Avatar sir, the funeral ceremony has been moved ahead of schedule to avoid the bad weather," a guard said, rushing up to the bison.

Aang nodded and everyone got down and followed the soldier to wherever this ceremony was to take place.

* * *

Han Feng wrote in the quick hand of a hurried man. His message was clear and to the point, though no one would see the message for a long time. He quickly put the message in a drawer before looking back up, just in time to see Koh rematerialize as he usually did at this hour.

"How many?" Koh asked, his face changing no less than three times while he spoke, making the question sound more like a grouping of animal sounds that had the faint appearance of what might be considered a sentence.

Han Feng would have known the reply to the question had Koh remained silent, for it was the question he always asked whenever he came.

"Two of any power. Roughly fifteen altogether." Han Feng replied, his voice steady with practice.

* * *

The Ceremony was long and agonizing, even if it was for one of her friends, and an old friend at that. Literally. Katara stood close to the pyre that was soon to light. Two of the Dai Li were doing whatever Dai Li did in this situation, their eyes forward and their hats on, unmoving.

Dai Li always made Katara nervous, but her attention was drawn back to the, now lit, pyre. The empty pyre, for King Bumi's corpse could not be found. She watched the sentimental fire burn, a tear running down her cheek.

Katara looked over to Aang, who was also crying, though much more so than she herself. Katara put her hand on his shoulder, smiling a forced smile of reassurance. Aang weakly smiled back, but said nothing.

Eventually, the fire burned down and everyone began to drift off, leaving only the gaang behind. Everyone was silent, even Sokka. The moment was awkward, but at the same time, no one wanted to break the silence.

Rain began to fall, Katara and Aang briefly waterbended umbrellas above them before letting the water fall on them.

A flash of light, though not from the clouds, appeared no less than twenty feet away, causing the gaang to look over at it. The light changed to pure blackness, from which a creature came forth. Katara didn't know what it was, but assumed a fighting stance anyways, the rest of the gaang quick to follow her idea.

The creature was unlike anything Katara had ever seen. It was draped in black clothes, a robe of sorts, and stood six feet tall or so. Its hands were clasped beneath the robe, making nothing visible except for whatever could be seen beneath its hood. A flash of lightning revealed what exactly was hiding in the shadowy recesses of the hood. A face, human in every way but a few. For instance, it had no mouth, and its eyes absorbed all light as did the vortex which had since disappeared. Instead of the lightly tanned skin of humans, this creature had grey skin, and instead of a nose, it had four slits which opened and closed as it breathed.

The creature wasted no time in talking. It sprinted forwards at inhuman speeds, charging the Avatar, who barely managed to summon an airshield in time. Katara gathered a significant amount of water from the rain around her, freezing it into icicles before launching the icicles at the creature. It dodged them with the same inhuman speed it showed before.

Toph stomped her foot on the ground, kicking the boulder that had flown upwards from her stomp at the creature, who caught the boulder, stumbling back only a bit, presenting its inhuman _strength_.

"Run!" Sokka yelled, seeing no alternative. The thing was just inhuman in every way, and they didn't want to stay and figure out how else it could surprise them.

Katara climbed up on Appa, who wasn't far away during the battle, the rest of the gaang either already there or following her lead. Aang grabbed the reigns to the sky bison, bringing them up, then quickly down.

"Yip yip," he said, bracing himself against Appa's back as the bison jumped into the air, leaving the odd creature to watch them leave.


End file.
